Memory, Inheritance And Reconstruction: On The Theme Of Growth In Tan Enmei 's Novels

Amy Tan, a Chinese American novelist with identity of both cultures, has herinfluence in the history of American literature. Her works presented huge differencesbetween Chinese and American culture, especially those in traditional family culture.In these stories, different views on family and moral principles in eastern and westerncultures bring about new thoughts to the first three generations of Chinese migrantsin the US.Many of Tans books are related and coherent in a very obvious way. Theyrevolve around mother-daughter relations, telling stories about the daughter, hermother and grandmother. Conflicts between daughters and mothers in these stories,and how the problems are solved provide us abundant materials for studying thegrowth of daughters. Taking three novels by Amy Tan---The Joy Luck Club, TheBonesetters Daughter, and The Kitchen God’s Wife---as examples, this study aims toexplore the hidden meaning of bildung conveyed between the lines.This essay gives a definition for the basic concept of the theme of bildung inTan’s writings. It mainly refers to the growing process of Chinese Americans who haveexperienced the “otherness” and “marginalization” in the multi-culture environmentin the US, through which their cultural self and gender self are developed. This articlecenters on the exposition of connections among memory, inheritance andreconstruction, and how they supplement each other in the growth of characters ofthe three generations.